Tidelines is an integrated, simultaneous presentation of music, poetry and photography inspired by the tidal landscape of Minas Basin. The emotion engendered by the tidal landscape is reflected in recorded poetry and music integrated in a sound space designed specifically for this installation by composer Derek Charke. The poetry is by the Dutch poet Onno Kosters and John Frederic Herbin. The photography is a selection of Dick Groot’s Tidescapes series, a project in a continuing state of becoming. The audience experiences the three works simultaneously and as they are walking through the mobile to view the photography the whole structure moves with the photography, suggesting the motion of the tides.

Poetry is inserted using the Fibonacci series, in normal order for the English, and retrograde for the Dutch. As the English translation becomes spaced further apart, the original Dutch poems gradually become closer together. At 90 minutes the soundtrack loops. If you stand long enough you will hear the Herbin take over from the English Kosters, while the Dutch Kosters gradually becomes more prevalent.

Amongst the group of black and white photographs there are three in muted colours. To mimic this three moments of sound activity – music if you like – is heard. Proportionally these moments occur, like the Dutch poetry, in a reverse Fibonacci series. The first musical moment occurs at the 10 minute mark, is 2 minutes long and uses the voice as source material. The second musical moment occurs at 25 minutes, is 4 minutes in length and is the most active of the three elaborating on the first moment’s material. The final moment occurs at 70 minutes, is 2 minutes in length, has an actually musical chorale – albeit one that disintegrates – and uses natural sounds from the Minas Basin.

It is unlikely that any one person will stay for the entire soundtrack. Each viewer will only get a snapshot of the whole. This mimics the ever shifting mobile. However, if they return, chances are they will hear something entirely different. I like to think this operates on a geologic time.

The audio file is saved as a standalone application. Any computer with an audio interface allowing for 4 channels out can run it.